Instead of Do Something, Do Nothing?

What makes you so sure we should do anything?

I read an interesting essay from some financial experts who are arguing the best thing for the economy would be doing nothing and letting it recalibrate on its own. I didn't do well enough in my college econ classes to know if this at all is sound advice for our current environment.

But as an underlying principle, do nothing, is an option not considered often enough, particularly if you are approaching a decision where the outcome of your options are unclear.

So the next time you feel an urgent need to make a decision, pause and ask yourself, "what might happen if I choose to do nothing right now?"

If the consequences are only minimally negative or if you wouldn't suffer any setback at all, you might simply choose to abstain and postpone your decisions to a time when the need to act is more compelling.

Doing nothing shouldn't be a shelter for perennial procrastinators or dropouts from Over-Analyzers Anonymous. It should though be seen as one of the many choices worth considering at any time.

Are We There Yet?

Groups making decisions often refer to analysis paralysis, the tendency to keep extending debate and discussion without any end in sight. This is perhaps nowhere more evident than in our own government where unbending advocacy for the liberal or conservative positions force a stalemate in an decision being rendered.

But in his inaugural address, President Obama offered a time-tested decision-making approach with lessons for us all:

"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end."

First, he reframes the traditional conversation by introducing a new core question: does government work? Second, he offers some initial criteria for determining what is meant by "working."

If you find yourself engaged in a conversation that has occurred many times before without producing a desirable result, you might try the same. Interrupt the traditional frames for the conversation. Introduce a new question to guide decisions. Reach consensus on success criteria for the new question. Apply this criteria to our various options.

Elements in the proposed stimulus package? A simple criteria: how many jobs will be created. A new program or product for your association or company? Possible criteria: market share gained, number of members served, new audiences reached, etc. Where to go on the family vacation? Well, you get the idea. Without agreement on the criteria we are using to evaluate our options, we are often left only with debate and posturing, neither of which lead to sound decisions or better interpersonal relations.

When we can have true dialogue—conversation that balances advocacy of our own perspectives with inquiry into others—we are more likely to make sound decisions. But doing so almost always requires that we have some generally understood criteria to apply to whatever decision is at hand, forcing people to break out of entrenched positions and engaging them in a unified effort to apply a common standard.

Human Creativity as Capital

I think the quote that follows speaks for itself. It is from Richard Florida, author of several books including The Rise of the Creative Class, and it suggests a real opportunity for organizations and communities to attract top talent in the future ... if we are up to seizing the moment. Are you?

Florida "sees the gravitational pull away from Wall Street and toward more creative industries as part of a necessary economic recalibration.

"'The economy couldn't survive on speculation and what really amounted to advanced financial alchemy,' he said. 'We are now realizing it is our human creativity that is our real capital.'"

The New York Times, December 28, 2008

The Pothole Problem and Other Confidence Killers

Potholes. Trash removal. Snow plowing.

Any one of these three has been known to destroy citizen satisfaction and bring down the tenure of otherwise well-regarded mayors. Why? Because they are ever-present reminders of how well we are being served.

It's hard to think you have great city government if driving down just about any street requires the dodging skills of the most advance video gamer lest you lose your transmission by dropping into an unpaved crater.

Every industry, every organization has its equivalent of the pothole. The one or two things that will undermine your entire operation if they aren't addressed correctly, quickly, and consistently.

Do you know yours?

Give the Dashboard to All Your Drivers

Hybrid owners often become fascinated with their cars' indicators that give them real-time feedback on their fuel efficiency. When I waited tables, I loved the immediate performance feedback that customer tips conveyed. At my gym I often wonder why programming screens on two different brand of elliptical machines record very different levels of calorie burning.

The screen shot above is from the Indianapolis Museum of Art's web site and offers a quick visual representation of the institution's performance in a few key categories. updated daily it allows anyone interested to learn the answer to that popular question, "so how are we doing?" What are the metrics that matter most for your individual or organizational performance? Do all contributors and stakeholders understand their importance? How transparently are you sharing them and is the information easy to comprehend?

It's one thing to know where you're going to. It's another to know if you are on the right track during the journey. While not all things that matter can be quantitatively measured; many can. Hence such interest in methodologies like the Balanced Scorecard and measurement systems like dashboard indicators. Particularly in uncertain times like the ones we currently navigate, concise and relevant performance indicators can provide ongoing and regular feedback that can help inform daily choices.

Gaming the System

Doubt that gaming is becoming a core marketing strategy? This New York Times article about the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia might challenge your mindset.

Gaming is not a new tool in the military's recruitment approach. Along with several corporations and a few nonprofits, the military has used video games the past few years to market their opportunities and appeal to a younger generation.

But as noted in The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, success requires moving from goods and commodities to complete experiences.

“An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event.”

A video game is just a good, but the new Army Experience Center is a $13 million dollar arcade according to the Times article. Some key facts:

• The Experience Center replaced five smaller recruitment stations, but costs approximately the same. By concentrating resources in one venue, recruiters can offer a more compelling experience.
• Philadelphia has been one of the more challenging areas for recruitment, so trying something very different here might seem less risky.
• Urban centers often don't have as strong a military presence, so the Center is an effective venue for sharing the Army's story overall regardless of visitors' interest in enlisting.
• The staff—both military and civilians— wear casual clothes to appear more approachable and less "hard sell."
• Three simulators engage participants in completing humanitarian missions, appealing to individuals' sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves.
• An informational kiosk describes more than 175 jobs available in the Army, promoting the fact that not all positions are combat roles.

It's too early to tell if the Center will produce the necessary recruitment numbers in the long-run, but the Army's approach provides a good example of tactics all organizations could experiment with: combining distributed resources to create a more compelling experience, providing engaging information and nonthreatening interactions to broaden others' knowledge of your story, using games and simulations to give people a sampling of what things actually might be like, appealing to individual's higher purpose and not just self-interest, and experimenting with new strategies in underperforming locations where standard approaches are not working.